Individual under suspicion surrenders following Cologne blast event.
At midnight, a blast reverberates through Cologne's Pesch neighborhood, causing chaos. The ground floor café of a multi-dwelling unit is reduced to rubble by the blast. Witnesses affirm seeing two individuals taking off from the scene at breakneck speed. One of these suspects has been apprehended by authorities, along with his legal counsel. The hunt for the other remains ongoing.
Furthermore, the string of explosions rocking Cologne and its vicinity extends, according to police and Prosecutors' reports. In the night, an eatery on the ground floor of a multi-family building in Cologne experienced a blast, causing havoc and engulfing the premises in flames. The blast reportedly had no connection to earlier incidents.
Eyewitnesses claimed to have spotted the two suspects darting away after the blast, with one of them ultimately handing himself over to the authorities later that day with legal representation. Authorities emphasized that no connection between this blast and the earlier incidences, all allegedly connected to criminal elements in Cologne, has been established yet. The suspected individual is reported to have ties with the café.
Meanwhile, a manhunt is underway for the second suspect, with a major police operation currently underway in a garden complex in western Cologne, according to dpa information. The fugitive is being searched for by investigators within this complex.
Lastly, a week ago, explosive and arson attacks targeted buildings and vehicles in Cologne and its surroundings. Security experts suspect the Dutch mafia as being behind these acts.
In the latest incidence, the residents of the affected multi-dwelling building in the Pesch district were lightly hurt by smoke inhalation, with two individuals receiving medical attention. The neighboring residents were alerted shortly after 3 a.m., as a loud bang was heard.
Additionally, the Cologne police have taken over the investigation regarding an incident in Solingen, where shots were allegedly fired through an apartment door in a multi-dwelling building during the night. No injuries were reported, but witnesses testified seeing two men scampering out of the building and fleeing the scene in a dark sedan.
Authorities claim there are links between these shots and the latest series of explosions having potential criminal links in Cologne, with investigators suggesting that the shots were intentionally aimed at the person involved in the investigation. More details were not disclosed.
The Cologne police are actively involved in the investigation of the shots fired in Solingen, as they believe there might be connections to the recent series of explosions in the city. The manhunt for the second blast suspect is ongoing in a garden complex in western Cologne, and the police are urgently searching for him.
